"That is absolutely unacceptable to me and I can never agree with it," the prime minister said during Question Time in Parliament on Wednesday morning in response to the question by a People's Party (HNS) deputy as to when a team of inspectors would be sent to the Gospic court and whether the judge would be punished for degrading his profession.
Sanader noted that he was not in the habit of commenting on non-final court judgement and that as prime minister he did not want to affect the work of judicial bodies, but that sometimes there were cases he had to comment on.
Last month Judge Milanovic acquitted Gospic businessman Joso Mraovic, 57, of a charge of raping 28-year-old US citizen Ilisha Jarett, a former player for a local basketball club, arguing that an act of rape must involve a sexual organ. The judge's statement of reasons for the decision attracted severe criticism from the Croatian media.